daffodil wrote:Thank you Tony and UT both for kindly answering my questions.I now have a much clearer understanding of the Police process, though still surprised that Michael Snelling was arrested and publicly named yet released so quickly.Similarities to Jo Yeates murder enquiry and the very public arrest of Christopher Jefferies - who I believe was still on bail even after Tabak was charged with her murder.

My apologies for this overdue 'thank you', the tardiness a result of domestic electrical and telephone line problems - quite out of my control.

As I've said, imo the names of those who are arrested by the police 'on suspicion' should be withheld from the press until they are arrainged on formal charges. However, police activity at Mr Snelling's home(s) will no doubt have alerted the local community and, even if he hadn't been named in the MSM, he would have become subject to unwarranted speculation as to his involvement in this or another case.

Around eight police vehicles with officers, including scenes of crime and dog handlers, descended on the The Acomb pub in York early this morning and have been searching it since.

Most police at the scene were from North Yorkshire Police but one van was from Durham Police, and officers with dogs and hammer equipment went in to work in the pub.One local resident said: 'I was on my way to work at 8am and there was one police car here. When I came back a couple of hours later there were vans, dogs and police in CSI suits.'

I think they have probably missed a comma between dogs - and police in CSI suits !

I've just read the article and it states police from Durham on the scene. I thought this was a bit odd as York has enough police to deal with the situation so must be specialists that York don't have. After a bit of research found out York police don't have cadaver dogs but Durham k9 team do, PD Max and PD Mickey who are both black labs like the dog in the photos.

I wonder what their remit is or are they just allowed to get on & try to find out what happened without having their hands tied behind their backs?

25 February 2015 Last updated at 06:22

Claudia Lawrence search police target York alley

Detectives searching for York chef Claudia Lawrence are to examine the alleyway behind her home for fresh clues in the inquiry.

North Yorkshire Police said it believed the alleyway may be a "significant" lead in its investigation. Specialist officers and a police dog are to search the area.Miss Lawrence disappeared from her house on Heworth Road in 2009.The new line of inquiry comes ahead of her 41st birthday, on Friday.The force said it would also carry out house-to-house inquiries in the area and contact former residents.

'Review very active'

Miss Lawrence, who worked at the University of York, had been due to start a 06:00 shift on 19 March but failed to turn up.Extensive searches of the area were made but she was not found and police have since treated her disappearance as murder.Det Sup Dai Malyn said: "The review remains very active."We still don't know if Claudia left for work... or whether something happened overnight within her house."If the latter is the case, the person or persons responsible, in my view, would have used the rear alleyway as the front door leads onto a busy main road. This is why this specific piece of information needs to be fully investigated."Det Sup Malyn said CCTV recording equipment in the neighbourhood would be checked again.

Disappearance 'a nightmare'

"This is a very poignant week for Claudia's family and friends as they should be celebrating her 41st birthday on Friday, rather than marking another upsetting milestone since she disappeared almost six years ago," he said.Miss Lawrence's mother, Joan, said: "It's a nightmare every single day."All the time you look out of the window in the morning and you wonder where she is."A review of the case in October 2013 led to two arrests but no-one has been charged.A 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder last May and was later released from his bail.A 47-year-old man was held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice last July and remains on bail while inquiries continue.

Same story from the Mail, yet these paragraphs give it a completely different slant:

‘Police investigating the disappearance of chef Claudia Lawrence six years ago are today carrying out another search near her home after receiving a new lead.The operation is focusing on the alley at the back of her house in York after the police chief in charge of the inquiry predicted more arrests 'in the coming weeks and months'.The detective in charge of the new investigation has suggested Miss Lawrence may have been killed in her home on the night of March 18, 2009 by a secret lover who then left by the alleyway.’

‘Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn of North Yorkshire Police said: 'One hypothesis is something could have happened overnight with another person in the house and then the alleyway was an obvious way out.'He added: 'I know people have lied to us. People may lie because they are in a relationship, and there could be a number of reasons why they are withholding information.'We have significant leads, my team, and myself are determined that if anybody is lying to us we will be arresting people because I am convinced people have information which they are not telling us about. We need to eliminate people who have previously not come forward.'Fingerprints have been lifted from Miss Lawrence's home and Det Supt Malyn said anybody who has had a relationship with her to contact the police.’

@Doug D wrote:The detective in charge of the new investigation has suggested Miss Lawrence may have been killed in her home on the night of March 18, 2009 by a secret lover who then left by the alleyway.’

Que?

The secret lover dashed off via the alleyway?

Taking the body of Claudia Lawrence along with him?

A harder task than Madeleine's abductor had

____________________

"Maddie's Jammies. Where is Maddie?" - Amelie, May 2007 - "Maddie's Jammies. Where is Maddie?"

"He said improvements in DNA testing had "proved dividends and identified people who did not previously come forward". He said: "I am convinced the breakthrough in the investigation will be from this relentless pursuit for the truth. When that person or persons with the vital information makes the right decision to share it with us, Claudia’s family will finally get some answers that they are still desperately searching for."...Claudia's father Peter said: "Every day is not good. But Claudia’s birthday and the sixth anniversary are much worse. Sometimes it seems forever, but other times I really cannot believe it is six years. "The new police team – experienced major crime officers – have been very thorough. But I think it may now be someone coming to them rather than detective work which answers this baffling case."

Dogs were brought in, and even this late on, a fingertip search of the alleyway at the back of her house was carried out... because she may have died in the house and her body may have been carried out that way.

Makes you think about new brooms in other cases. In this one the snag is likely to be secrecy because of at least one married man being involved. No politics though ... just a puzzle and a lot of liars it seems.

It's hard to tell if police are just working on a hypothesis or a solid lead or tip off. The officer in charge has used the term 'specific information' in a Sky news report, I'm not sure why he would do that if just following a theory on the off-chance. The team have apparently been speaking to people who lived in the street and moved out. Maybe someone saw something happen in the alley way?

Police were quoted today as saying they may never solve this case, yet they want people to come forward, that seems odd or are they attempting to appeal to people's conscience in some kind of last ditch attempt? Then there is this article at Skynews. I've bolded the bit I find intriguing, was he warned off by police or people linked to Claudia?

"Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents Six years after the 35-year-old went missing, Gerard Tubb evaluates the case - and the difficulties police face in cracking it.

The question of what happened to York University cook Claudia Lawrence is simultaneously a family tragedy, a thorn in the side of North Yorkshire Police, and one of the country's most intriguing unsolved crimes.Claudia, 35 and apparently single, is assumed to have been murdered after failing to turn up to work in March 2009, leaving no obvious clues about what had happened to her.In the six years she has been missing there have been just two arrests and no charges.It is little wonder that people are asking if the police have run out of ideas.So is the recent renewed police activity around her former home, and the claim that more arrests could be imminent, just an attempt to silence the critics, or are the police on to something?And why are there so many undercurrents to the mystery, with some people still unwilling to talk to journalists, and others issuing warnings or threats?To find the answers you have to look at the history of the investigation and at the police team trying to move it forward.There were undoubtedly mistakes made in the spring of 2009. For months after Claudia vanished the entire publicity effort of Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway's investigation showed her with the wrong colour hair, while detectives allowed the misleading narrative that Claudia was an unassuming young woman to run away with them and never really recovered from the belated attempt to correct it.The truth - that her relationships involved what Mr Galloway eventually described as "complexity and mystery" - was not made public until three months after she disappeared, many weeks after they had built up what one described to me as a "rogues' gallery" of some of the men she had been involved with.With a continued insistence from Claudia's family and friends, from whom it seems she hid much of her private life, that the police were wrong, and with many locals knowing differently all along, it set the tone for mistrust and conflict.To be fair the police did not know what they were walking into: Claudia apparently lived a significant part of her life in secret and her parents had endured such a bitter divorce that to this day they have never made a joint appeal over their daughter's disappearance.Meanwhile, journalists were finding the story hard to tell. For a privately-educated daughter of a country solicitor Claudia had some unusual acquaintances and this remains the only missing person case where I've been warned off or threatened - not once, but twice.Journalists and the police alike have found it hard to break the silence surrounding some of her relationships.Fast forward five years and following the retirement of Ray Galloway a new police team has relaunched the investigation.Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, the senior investigating officer, has described the investigation as engrossing and quickly said he had "spotted things" to work on. Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason, the force's head of crime, knows the Police and Crime Commissioner wants a result.Neither give the impression of police officers who would spin lines for publicity or conduct stunts to make themselves look busy.So far they've arrested two men, with one released without charge and the other still on bail on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.They have re-examined Claudia's house, carried out a much-publicised fingertip search outside and re-interviewed key individuals and in doing so they have created a buzz which might yet solve the crime.Det Supt Malyn is now talking about new leads, continuing obstruction, cover-ups and lies by some people and the possibility of more arrests soon.But he's a realist too: "Ultimately we may not be able to prove what happened to Claudia, or be able to find her," he admitted this week.There is a feeling among Claudia's family and the reporters who have covered this case from the start that if North Yorkshire Police fail to solve this crime it will not be for the want of trying. "

The arrest, six years on from the chef's disappearance, is believed to be linked to the screening of CCTV near her home last week.

A man in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Claudia Lawrence, who disappeared six years ago.North Yorkshire Police say searches are currently being conducted which are expected to continue over a number of days.A police spokesman said Miss Lawrence has not been found.Her family have been told about the development and are being supported by trained officers.The man, who is from the York area, was arrested on Monday.

Sky's North of England Correspondent Gerard Tubb said the arrest is linked to the screening of CCTV by police close to Miss Lawrence's home last week.Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn of North Yorkshire Police said: "To ensure the investigation and legal process are not compromised or potentially damaged in any way during this critical phase in seeking the truth about Claudia's disappearance, North Yorkshire Police strongly advises the media and members of the public against identifying the man who has been arrested."This includes naming or publishing images of the man on traditional media platforms or social networking sites."I urge everyone to show restraint and patience while we carry out these very important enquiries." Miss Lawrence, 35, was last seen on 18 March, 2009.She was reported missing by her father the next day when she failed to turn up for her 6am shift at York University, where she worked as a chef.Police started reviewing the case in 2013 and have carried out a number of searches since then, including a detailed re-examination of Miss Lawrence's home in the Heworth area of York, and a fingertip search of an alleyway that leads to the rear of the house.A man was arrested last year in connection with her disappearance and suspected murder, but the 60-year-old was later released without charge.A 47-year-old remains on bail on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. "

Police investigating the disappearance of chef Claudia Lawrence have arrested three men on suspicion of murder, North Yorkshire Police say.The men are in their 50s and from the York area, the force said.

Another local man arrested last month remains on bail, and police urged the media and members of the public not to identify them.

The senior investigating officer in the Claudia Lawrence inquiry, Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, said: "As with the previous arrest last month, I strongly advise the media and members of the public against identifying the men who have been arrested.

"This is to ensure the investigation and legal process are not compromised or potentially damaged in any way. This includes naming or publishing images of the men, their home addresses, places of work, their vehicles and properties being searched on traditional media platforms or social networking sites."

March marked six years since Lawrence's disappearance, with police saying she has still not been found.Last updated Wed 22 Apr 2015

@sammyc wrote:Has anyone seen it on Sky yet? Is Brunt up in York covering it?

Yes1430 Spanish time, 1330 UKThe friend of the family - who has acted as spokesperson gave a short piece, but the press have been asked to not go around identifying people.And for once they may act responsibly !